Pioneer Portraits I: Series Guide

Examples:

Card Reverses:

The Blonde & Brunette card backs are issued randomly on the reverse of all Pioneer Portraits I: 1850-1874 cards.

Blonde

Green Tint
Issued: 2013
Date Stamp: 2013

Brunette

Green Tint
Issued: 2013
Date Stamp: 2013

Blonde

Green Tint
Issued: 2014
Date Stamp: C.MMXIV

Brunette

Green Tint
Issued: 2014
Date Stamp: C.MMXIV

Blonde

Red Tint
Issued: 2015
Date Stamp: C.MMXV

Brunette

Red Tint
Issued: 2015
Date Stamp: C.MMXV

Blonde

Gold Tint
Issued: 2016
Date Stamp: C.MMXVI

Brunette

Gold Tint
Issued: 2016
Date Stamp: C.MMXVI

Pioneer Portraits I: 1850-1874

“The new Photographic Score Card which was introduced to the public in the Boston-Athletic match May 20th, will again be introduced in the Boston-Chicago match, June 24, and a different photograph will appear at every match game during the balance of the season.”

–Mort Rogers, May 31, 1871

“A new invention in the score card line, and one that is destined to supersede all other such arrangements now in use, made its appearance on the Union grounds in the games of Monday and Tuesday. It is an ordinary large sized score card, with a photograph of some prominent ball player pasted on the outside of each. The whole arrangement is very neat and complete. Mr. Mortimer Rogers, of Boston, and a member of the Boston base ball club party, is the originator of the device.”

–Cincinnati Daily Gazette, July 7, 1871

“Mort Rogers, of Boston, now with the club, has gotten out an exceedingly need photographic score card. The series which he proposes to publish, will comprise pictures of every professional ball player in the country, and will make a valuable collection.”

–Cleveland Leader, July 13, 1871

Inspired by the innovative and rare Mort Rogers Scorecards, circa 1871-1872, the Pioneer Portraits I: 1850-1874 series features portraits of baseball players and pioneers spanning the era from 1850 to 1874. The series includes many of the earliest known and rarest images of the men who organized and played baseball during its nascent stages of recorded development.

Despite the relative obscurity of most of the subjects in this series, I adore this collection as it represents countless hours of research into the lives of men and origins of the game that I had previously known very little about. The game has a fascinating little history, filled with great characters and achievements, and my goal was to tap into that history with this series. If you have a desire to collect images of the stars, game-changers, local heroes and forgotten utility men of the game’s earliest days as a profession – the Pioneer Portraits I: 1850-1874 series is an excellent place to begin.

Concerning city & team designations, I followed two simple rules:

1. If a player is pictured in uniform, I assigned him to that team.
2. Otherwise, I assigned players to the teams for which they appeared in the most games before 1875 or had the greatest historical impact.

Size, Weight & Design:

Dimensions: 2″ x 3″

Thickness: 24 pts

Designed: June, 2013

Checklist:

The Pioneer Portraits I: 1850-1874 set is now complete with 53 cards in the active series

Due to some regrettable mistakes on my part, there also exist 3 error cards and 6 outtakes that I no longer produce